Songs the Lord Taught Us
1980 studio album by the Cramps
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Songs the Lord Taught Us is the debut album by the American rock band the Cramps. It was released in 1980 on I.R.S. Records in America and Illegal Records in the UK. In 2020, Rolling Stone included Songs the Lord Taught Us in their "80 Greatest albums of 1980" list, praising the band for its "psychobilly sound that went way beyond the kitschiest moments of the Ramones or Blondie and into a whole new realm of garage-trash novelty".[11]
| Songs the Lord Taught Us | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1979–1980 | |||
| Studio | Phillips Recording, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 37:53 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Alex Chilton | |||
| The Cramps chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Songs the Lord Taught Us | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B−[4] |
| Pitchfork | 8.7/10[5] |
| Record Mirror | [6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [7] |
| Smash Hits | 7½/10[8] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[9] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | B+ ( )[10] |
Music
Eric R. Danton of Paste called the album a "weird, funny and loud ... gleefully raw, thoroughly campy collection." He said the album contains "blaring guitars and Lux Interior's unhinged vocals on songs steeped in the twin influences of rockabilly and garish B-movie horror imagery."[12]
Track listing
Writing credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[13]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "TV Set" | Poison Ivy Rorschach, Lux Interior | 3:12 |
| 2. | "Rock on the Moon" (originally performed by Jimmy Stewart) | Jimmy Stewart | 1:53 |
| 3. | "Garbageman" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:37 |
| 4. | "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:03 |
| 5. | "Sunglasses After Dark" (originally performed by Dwight "Whitey" Pullen; contains an interpretation of "Ace of Spades", originally performed by Link Wray[14]) | Rorschach, Interior, Dwight Pullen, Link Wray | 3:47 |
| 6. | "The Mad Daddy" | Rorschach, Interior | 3:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Mystery Plane" | Rorschach, Interior | 2:43 |
| 8. | "Zombie Dance" | Rorschach, Interior | 1:55 |
| 9. | "What's Behind the Mask" | Rorschach, Interior | 2:05 |
| 10. | "Strychnine" (originally performed by the Sonics) | Gerry Roslie | 2:24 |
| 11. | "I'm Cramped" | Rorschach, Interior, Bryan Gregory, Nick Knox | 2:37 |
| 12. | "Tear It Up" (originally performed by Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio) | Johnny Burnette, Dorsey Burnette, Paul Burlison | 2:32 |
| 13. | "Fever" (originally performed by Little Willie John) | John Davenport (Otis Blackwell), Eddie Cooley | 4:17 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" (With False Start) (Original Mix) | Rorschach, Interior | 4:48 |
| 15. | "Mystery Plane" (Original Mix) | Rorschach, Interior | 2:39 |
| 16. | "Twist and Shout" | Rorschach, Interior | 2:32 |
| 17. | "I'm Cramped" (Original Mix) | Rorschach, Interior, Gregory, Knox | 2:37 |
| 18. | "The Mad Daddy" (Original Mix) | Rorschach, Interior | 3:15 |
Personnel
The Cramps
- Lux Interior – vocals
- Poison Ivy Rorschach – guitar
- Bryan Gregory – guitar
- Nick Knox – drums
Additional musicians
Technical
- Alex Chilton – producer
- John Hampton – engineer
- Carl Grasso – art direction
- The Cramps – sleeve concept, mixing
- David Arnoff – photography
